The Original Pancake House

15 min or so wait. Pecan pancakes totally worth it. This reviews isn’t long enough so I’m going to post some filler. The building is kind of small, we were shoulder to shoulder in the waiting area.

I visit this spot at least once a week. The food and coffee are always delicious and the service is the best on the south side.
Whether you are a Chi-​town regular or a tourist looking for the best breakfast in Chicago — visit this pancake house. You won’t be disappointed.

The food & service was delicious. Our server was very nice and courteous!!!

Good food. Original taste. You know what your getting.
It’s like a «been there done that », you know it’s cool. Have no time for mistake.

Great food. Clean establishment. Staff friendly and quick to help each other to take care of guests.
Had the eggs Benedict with potato pancakes, best potato pancakes in this neighborhood.

Basically, it’s a glorified IHOP, and that’s not a bad thing. The scramblers were huge portions, full of fresh vegetables, and the accompanying salsa was surprisingly tasty. I opted out of the bread sides and got an overflowing side of fruit that was deliciously ripe. I managed to steal several bites of the pancakes that were super light and fluffy. The pancakes themselves tasted like plain white bread, but add a little bit of butter and syrup for that magical sweet and salty combination. It’s just a simple place serving up some good ol’ breakfast food with fast and friendly service.

This is my favorite breakfast place in Hyde Park! I am very meticulous when it comes to cleanliness in restaurants and I am so happy that my silverware are always sparkling. This place has delicious food with great waitstaff. Food is always hot and fast.

Customer service was horrible. The ladies in the front were rude! My order was completely wrong and cold when I got it.

I’m being generous with 2 stars here.
1. Restaurant is too small
2. So I try to avoid this by ordering carry out
3. They NEVER get my carry out order correct. Last time they left out the butter and syrup. This time they gave me the wrong type of syrup
This is also after I sat waiting for 10 minutes (I watched my order be brought by the server. The cashier put my order on the wall behind her, without even bothering to call my name and see if I was there).
I do love the food, but it seems like there’s no way to enjoy it between failed carry out orders and a laborious dining experience.

Everything and I do mean everything was delicious! There was a short wait, around 5 or the 10 minutes and our party of 4 was seated.
Our waitress Aisha was wonderful. She catered to every one of our needs and was very accompanying when a nearby booth became available and we asked to be moved to have more room.
We ordered an abundance of food. The home style potatoes were absolutely delicious as a side. Other food included chocolate chip pancakes, meat lovers special, a create your own omelet, and a turkey link breakfast. We had no complaints and plenty of full bellies. I will come here every chance I can get.

Thank you all the great reviews for this restaurant! We were looking for breakfast while we were on Chicago and this place looked delicious! We got there and it was packed! But only had to wait a few minutes to get a table for 2. The boyfriend and I each got the southwestern skillet. But I got mine with wheat toast and the boyfriend got the buttermilk pancakes. I also got a side of grits. It was so good!!! a little too spicy for me but amaze balls. It even comes with their homemade salsa that was so flavorful and a little spicy too. The southwestern skillet comes with sausage, potatoes veggies, and you get two eggs on top. I got it over easy. the grits was okay, it would’ve been better with cheese. yummy! when we left, there were still people waiting for a table! must be a popular place.

this place has serious breakfast !
The major downside is the waiting ! It took a while to order our food and to get it. It is a busy breakfast place so just be prepared to wait I guess .
To the food !! Lol the waffles are awesome my pictures of the food are half eaten and may look to tempting but it was really good !
The pecan waffle is very good ! And just plain Waffle is as well !
But the Southern Potatoes ! So good !!!

Are you ready to literally «roll» back to your bed after that?
Great! You are up for a «food porn» moment!
This place is just AMAZING! You could find, if you really look attentively, some fruits, somewhere in your plate… but who cares about fruit right? This place reflects exactly what’s a real american «breakfast-​brunch»! Be ready to wait a little bit but it worth it trust me! Close your eyes… You are in the late 50’s, you enter in a crowdie place where you can smell butter, crispy bacon and pancakes… you smell it? Open your eyes… Here we are! It’s time to order bacon and eegs, a blueberry pancake and a chocolate waffle and NOW you are the happiest dude in the ALL WORLD! Perfect place for a hangover ;-)

This place is great! I’ve been living in Hyde Park for almost a year and can’t believe it took me this long to check it out. Brunchin’ is a part of life and this place hits the spot! We went on Labor Day (morning/​afternoon) and it was pretty busy, but we only waited maybe five minutes for a table. Good thing because we came hungry.
They’ve got plenty of the usual offerings, plus some gluten-​free and vegetarian options as well — which was perfect for my friend whose a vegetarian (well, almost).
I ordered the create-​your-​own skillet which allows you four veggies/​meats/​cheese (whatever your preference) and then each additional is extra charge. That skillet was huge (bacon, eggs, spinach, onions, tomatoes, cheddar cheese). Then they serve you three buttermilk pancakes with. It is rare that I have real buttermilk pancakes, but these are it!
I’m not sure why I ordered lemonade with breakfast (but it was so good and so sweet)…I’m usually a big water drinker.
Overall, my meal was great, my friend enjoyed hers… and I will be back.

My favorite place to go for brunch in Hyde Park!
I always have trouble deciding what to get here. There are SO many options, and the variety of pancakes is SO tempting. I usually go for the steak skillet with over-​easy eggs. It comes with a side of pancakes (so I don’t have to decide if I want a skillet or pancakes). Super filling, and I’m never able to finish it… I usually eat the rest the next day because I’m usually stuffed for the rest of the day! Prices can’t be beat.
A bit finicky with credit card splitting (I believe they only do two cards/​table). If you come at a prime brunch time, be prepared to wait 40−60min for a table.

Great food, good service, good prices, free parking… what more could you ask for. Love this place, and have been coming here since I was a kid. Never had a bad experience and always order the same meal everytime and the food is always consistently good. Always get the junior plate which comes with pancakes, choice of meat (I get their perfectly cooked thick bacon) and order a side of hashbrowns which are the best in chicago. I love love love that their syrup is always warm when they give it to you… why don’t all breakfast places do that? From the time I sit down, to the time I get my food and eat, this takes no more than 30 minutes every time whether I’m by myself or with 4 – 5 people. Beware of weekend mornings bc it gets extremely packed. I knocked them one star bc they need a larger waiting area (especially on weekends when it gets packed in there). They recently moved to a new and larger location, so no reason why the waiting area should still be the same size as their old location. They also need a new process for their waiting list. For years they hand you a number and call it when your table is ready. It’s 2015 and time to update this process. Other then that love it!!!

7:30 in the am is the best time to come. They have a parking lot which is convenient. Food is pretty consistent. Other than traditional combos their food and coffee are pretty expensive. If you come here later than early morning its pretty crowded and much less cozy. I will definitely return.

This is a nice family restaurant. The service was quick on an early Wednesday morning. The hostess was terribly unprofessional. When we walked in, she wasn’t at the hostess counter, so when she passed us on the phone to pick up a few menus, I hadn’t taken special notice of her when she said «follow me». I was so turned off that she stayed on her obviously personal phone call while seating us. She placed the menus on the table and walked away, still without greeting us.
The waitress was better. Because it was pretty early and not much of a crowd, we were in and out pretty quickly. The food was good. I had the veggie quiche (comes with fruit and delicious hash browns). My bf had the meat lovers special. His pancakes were so fluffy and yummy!
It’s an average spot with decent food. I’ll come again. Hopefully the hostess puts the phone down long enough to greet us next time.

When you need a good, hearty comfort meal, you should go here. It is a very popular place but parking is always easy to find. I’ve tried their original pancakes, skillets and their strawberry waffles. All of these are sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Today, I finally ordered its famous apple pancakes. Oven-​baked with brown sugar and Granny Smith. It’s the perfect guilty pleasure.

Nicole gave us excellent service. She was understanding that we needed more time to study the huge menu, after providing us a bottomless cup of very good coffee.
All omelettes are baked. Scrambles are available as well as frittatas, and a multitude of pancake and waffle variations.
Any egg dish can be prepared with egg whites or Egg Beaters for a slight upcharge.
You are given a choice of toast or pancakes with your omelette and scramble orders.
The husband tried the veggie omelette with cheddar and pancakes. I had the healthy scramble made with veggies (no cheese) and pancakes. We requested honey instead of syrup because I’d read my Unilocal reviews and noted that they have ‘thin’ syrup which I despise! Nicole told me that the syrup is house made and includes molasses as an ingredient. Personally, I think molasses goes very well with pancakes without being diluted by other ingredients.
I liked my scrambler. The husband liked his baked omelette. He told me the pancakes were too doughy, as if undercooked. I must agree with his assessment.
The restaurant itself is very comfortable, and the tables are NOT crowded together, which is nice and kept the noise down. We were able to converse, a special treat these days.
There is free parking in the shopping center lot, but stay out of the spaces near the dry cleaners because you will be towed!!!
We visited on a Tuesday about 10:30−11 and there were a few groups waiting for tables, but we were seated within 5 – 7 minutes.
The waiting area is confined right in front of the washroom entrances, which could create problems during inclement weather when lines are long.
I liked the food. Huge portions and s fair price point. If I’m in the area and we want breakfast, I’d return. However I don’t think it’s worth a special trip. Service is very good and I noticed that teamwork amongst the personnel is strong! I like that, and believe that it’s an indication that staff is treated fairly and with respect.
I recommend The Original Pancake House when in Hyde Park!